Magnus Carlsen's coach attacks FIDE over absence of top-three players at World Cup in Goa: 'Would cause an outrage'

The FIDE World Cup is currently underway in Arpora, Goa and features some of the biggest names in the sport, including reigning Classical world champion D Gukesh and fellow Indian stars Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa as well as the likes of Vincent Keymer, Anish Giri and more.

The tournament’s lineup also included two-time Candidates winner Ian Nepomniachtchi and world No 8 Wesley So, who crashed out of the tournament in the second round on Wednesday after falling short in the Classical games.

What the tournament is missing though is the participation of three of the world’s top-ranked players – five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen as well as Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana.

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The iconic trio had recently participated in the ‘Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown’ event in St Louis, USA with Gukesh as the fourth participant, which Carlsen ended up winning with two games to spare. And while the Chess World Cup is underway at Resort Rio in Goa, Carlsen, Nakamura and Caruana are keeping themselves busy by participating in online events.

Carlsen’s coach attacks FIDE over absence of top-three players

Carlsen’s coach Peter Heine Nielsen couldn’t help but notice the glaring absence of the world’s top-three players and took a dig at governing body FIDE for their inability to ensure their participation in premier events.

“The World Cup is happening right now. None of the top 3 players in the world participate, but right now instead plays a weekly online event " Titled Tuesday” It would cause an outrage in any other sport, but is the “normal” in chess," Nielsen wrote on X.

It’s worth noting, however, that Carlsen hasn’t shown any interest in the World Championship cycle since he opted against defending his title in 2023, and doesn’t have a change of plan as far as challenging Gukesh for his title next year is concerned.

Carlsen also shares strained ties with FIDE, their relationship going downhill since the ‘Jeansgate’ scandal at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City last year.

Caruana, on the other hand, has already qualified for next year’s Candidates as the 2024 FIDE Circuit winner while Nakamura is attempting to qualify via the rating spot.